Single inlet whirl chamber nozzle



Jan. 19, 1954 F, w, wAHLlN 2,666,669

SINGLE INLET WHIRL CHAMBER NOZZLE Filed Sept. 1. 1950 3f INVENTOR Patented Jan. 19, 1954 UNITED STATE 2,666,669 F I C E SINGLE INLET WHIRL CHAMBER NOZZLE Fred W. Wahlin, Oak Park, Ill., assigner to Spraying Systems Co., Bellwood, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application September 1, 1950, SerialNo. 182,700

6 Claims.

My invention relates to nozzles for spraying liquids and has reference more particularly to such nozzles wherein a hollow conical spray is produced by imparting a whirling motion to the liquid before it passes through the discharge oriiice.

, In such nozzles it is customary to provide a socalled whirl chamber into which the liquid is introduced tangentially to impart rotation to the liquid in the chamber and the discharge orice is located to lead from the whirl chamber at one end of the axis of rotation of the whirling liquid so that the liquid continues to whirl as it passes through the discharge opening.

It is important for uniformity of spray pattern that the whirling mass of liquid in the whirl chamber be oriented so as to rotate about an axis exactly aligned with the axis of the discharge orifice and that the supplied'liquid be distributed uniformly around such axis andthat such alignment and distribution conditions be unaffected by variations in the liquid pressure at which the nozzle is operated.

Nozzles with whirl chambers having a single tangential inlet have been employed theretofore with various expedients to counteract the unbalancing effect of introducing the liquid at one side of the whirl chamber, as, for example, in

Baker Patent 2,141,077 wherein a spiral insert is provided in the whirl chamber or in Wahlin 1,938,000 wherein the whirl chamber is of convergent flat spiral form with inclined bottom, but such expedients have the disadvantage of excessive cost, inapplicability to simple and rapid machine production, lack of suflicient accuracy or practical limitations as to size, and accordingly, whirl chamber nozzles are generally made with a circular whirl chamber having two tangential inlets at opposite sides respectively thereof, or in some cases a plurality of such inlets spaced at equal intervals around the whirl chamber, in order to provide balanced or equalized iniow con-` ditions which will not affect the accuracy of orientation or the uniformity of the whirling massof liquid.

Two or'more tangential inlets, however, are disadvantageous, especially in small capacity nozzles because of the small cross sectional size thereof that is necessary to cause the desired rapid rotation ofthe liquid in the whirl chamber. The rate of rotation of the whirling liquid depends upon the velocity of the inflowing liquid and as the two or more tangential inlets must have a total cross sectional area-which is approximately the same as that of a single tangential inlet in order to provide the required inlet velocity, the size of the two or more inlets is oftentimes so small that they become clogged quite easily with the liquidthat is being sprayed or by foreign the unbalance and lack of symmetry of the whirling mass which a single inlet tends to cause; to provide a construction which is simple and applicable to nozzles of any desired capacity and may be made readily and with precision in volume production; to permit convenient access to all parts for cleaning or replacement; and to utilize a composite whirl chamber and spray orifice member which is interchangeable to adapt the nozzles for other capacities, these and other objects being accomplished as pointed out hereinafter and as shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a side View of a nozzle embodying my improvements;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the nozzle of Fig. l taken on the line 2 2 thereof;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view of the nozzle taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary View of the upper end of the nozzle tip retainer with part thereof in section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 5 is an end view of the parts shown in Fig. 4.

Referring now to the drawing, the spray nozzle as illustrated in Fig. 1 comprises a nozzle body Ill, a nozzle body end member i I which forms a continuation of the nozzle body, and a coupling ring I2 which serves to secure the end member I I to the body I0. In said end member EI is a spray tip or insert I3 through which the liquid is sprayed,

' said tip I3 having a whirl chamber It therein, a

discharge orifice I5 at its upper end, and an external, peripheral rim It at its lower end. The whirl chamber I4 is cylindrical in shape with conical upper extension which tapers toward the discharge orice I5 which is axially aligned with the whirl chamber I4.

The end member Il has a cylindrical chamber I'I therein with an axially aligned opening I8 of reduced in diameter at one end in which the spray tip or insert I3 is secured, and internal threading I9 at the opposite end. Around its exterior at the threaded end, the end member II is provided with a ange 26 which is adapted to be engaged by the clamping ring I2 for securing the end member to the end of the nozzle body I6 as shown in Fig. 2. At its other end the nozzle body Ill may be internally threaded for engagement with the externally threaded end of a liquid supply pipe 2| or it may be otherwise formed for liquid supply connection therewith.

The whirl chamber Ill is provided at its end remote from thedischarge orifice 5 with a relatively shallow circumferential enlargement 22 of circular shape and somewhat eccentrically disposed with respect to said whirl chamber Hiv so that the axis of the said circumferential enlargement 22 is parallel but slightly off center with respect to the axis of the whirl chamber I4 and the orice I5.

- VBetween the eccentric enlargement 22 and the cylindrical chamber l :t is an annular beveled face 3E of the shape of a frustum of a cone whose axis is concentric with the axis of the enlargement 22. Thus the bevel face 35 is of varyingwidth with the greatest width at the side of greatest eccentric displacement of the enlargement 22 as shown in Fig. 2.

A liquid inlet 23 communicates tangentially with the circumferential enlargement 22 as shown in Fig, 3 at a place about a qua-rter turn before or in advance of the place of greatest radial width of said cricumferential enlargement so that the entering liquid tends to ow around the enlargement in a relatively7 short circumferential portion thereof oi gradually increasing radial width and thereafter continues such ilow in a relatively long circumferential portion of gradual decreasing width, this arrangement having been found to accommodate and' distribute the inflowing liquid without unbalancing the whirling mass of liquid or aiecting the axial alignment thereof with the discharge oriice i 5.

The tip i3 is held in place in the opening IS of the end member i i by means of a flat surfaced disk 2d which is clamped against the bottom end of said tip i3 and closes the lower open end oi the whirl chamber ifi. By reason of this open end construction of the nozzle tip i3 and closure thereof by the disk 24a, the whirl chamber i4 with its conical upper end and with its eccentric enlargement or counter bore 22 and tapered annular face 35 may be readily and accurately formed in the tip i3 with ordinary machine tools or cutters and the tangential inlet 23 may bev readily provided by cutting a groove with an appropriate milling cutter inasmuch as the open side or" the groove is closed by the disk 24 when the nozzle is assembled.

The disk 2e is carried by a fitting 25 which has external threaded engagement with the internal threads le of the nozzle end member ii for clamping the disk Z4 against the bottom of the spray tip it, the disk being tiltably secured on the end of said tting 25 for adjustability to clamp atwise against the lower or inner end of the spray tip i3 and insure complete closure of the open inner end of the spray tip I3. The latter has a gasket 3.? therearound which is compressed between the spray tip rim i6 and the overhangine shoulder of the nozzle end member Ii, as shown in Fig. 2, to'seal the joint between said tip i3 and member Il, this compression of the gasket 33 being effected by the clamping ofk the disk 2e against the spray tip I3 by the tting 25.

The outer end portion of the fitting 25 beyond its place of threaded engagement with the nozzle end member ES is of reduced diameter to provide an annular chamber therearound, and the fitting 5 has a central opening 26v through which liquid is supplied to said annular chamber and therefrom through the tangential inlet 23 to the whirl chamber i4, said reduced outer end portion being diametrically slotted as at 3| to provide diametrical outlets from. the central opening 2t to said annular chamber.

For securing the disk 24 to this reducedouter end portion of the fitting 25 said disk is provided on its underside with a central flared stem 3| which is inserted in the end of the central opening 25 of the fitting 25 and has the latter pressed or peened in therearound as at 28 to retain said stem therein but in a sumciently loosel manner,

to permit any necessary tilting of the disk 2,4 to bear exactly flatwise against the inner end. of

. pressing or peening in of the end of the fitting around the conical extension 3i.

Preferably the fitting 25 is of a length to extend a substantial distance into the nozzle body to serve as a support for a cylindrical strainer screen 29 through which liquid is supplied to the central opening 26.

To this end said extended portion of the fitting 25 is provided with a series of annular shoulders 35 to support the cylindrical strainer 29 and with relatively wide annular grooves 3'! between the shoulders 36, and at each groove 3l said extended portion is transversely slotted as at B to afford communication from the exterior of the strainer supporting extension to the central opening 2 E therein.

Said opening 2d is closed at the end remote from the clamping disk 2d as indicated at 'il' and the shoulder 35 at that end has an annular enlargement or rim 39 against which one end of the strainer 29 abuts and the other end of the strainer fits against a beveled face el@ within that end of the nozzle end member ll which abuts against the nozzle body |43 as clearly shown in Fig, 2. Preferably the closed end of the strainer supporting portion of the tting 25 has an external. diametrical slot 34 for screw driver engagement for screwing the fitting 25 tightly in place.

If desired, the strainer and strainer supporting portion of the fitting 25 may be omitted and the latter may be in the form of a short threaded plug which terminates at the location indicated by the dotted line il in Fig. 2 with a screw driver slot @i2 in that end and has the opening 25 leading directly into the interior'of the nozzle body By reason of the above construction, all of the parts composing the nozzle may be made quite rapidly and with great precision using ordinaryV screw machine orsimilar processes and the nozzie is easily and quickly assembled and all the parts are readily accessbile for cleaning or replacement.

Moreover., as the spray tip or insert I3 which includes the discharge orifice, whirl chamber and 'acilities for counteracting imbalance due to single tangential inlet is readily removable, the nozzle may be readily adapted to .other spray capacity or volume by merely substituting a spray tipy I3 of the desired Volume or capacity.

Because of the single tangential inlet, the nozzle is adapted to sprays of extremely low volume without likelihood of clogging and moreover in the event of clogging the tangential inlet 23 is readily accessible for cleaning especially because of its open sided groove form and closure of the open side by the'removable clamping plate 2s.

As a speci-fic example of the above described nozzle, theV discharge oriiice i5 may he of .G29 inch diameter and the whirl chamber iii-"of .-f inch diameter with the conical extension at the outer end thereof of spread or 45 angle to the axis of the whirl chamber. At the bottom or lower end of the whirl chamber is the circumferential enlargement or counterbore 22 is of #e inch diameter and .015 inch depth and the annular bevel 35 is at an angle of 60' tothe axis of the counterbore and concentric therewith, and the overall distance from the bottom or inner end face of the insert t3` to the top of the cylindrical portion of the Whirl chamber where it joins the conical extension is 1A; inch. In this specic example, the tangential inlet 23 is .014 inch wide-and .015 inch deep and the counterbore 22 is displacedeccentrically from the axis of the Whirl chamber .002 inch toward the plane of the tangential inlet and .004 inch in the direction of inlet iiow through said tangential inlet so that the greatest radial Width of the circumferential chamber 22 is approximately 90 beyond the middle of the inner end opening .of the tangential inlet 23 as shown in Fig. 3.

In this nozzle the liquid enters the interior of the nozzle body l0 through the pipe 2i or other liquid supply connection under the'selected liquid v pressure and passes through the screen 2Q into the annular grooves 31 between the annular shoulders 35 and from these annular grooves through the slots 38 into the central opening 25 of the fitting 25. From this opening 25, the liquid passes through the slot openings 32 into the annular chamber around the reduced outer end of the fitting 25 and from this annular chamber is forced inwardly at high velocity through the tangential inlet 23 by the pressure of the liquid so as to produce a rapidly whirling mass of liquid in the Whirl chamber Il! from which the liquid is discharged in a whirling stream through the discharge orifice I5.

While I have shown and described my invention in a preferred form, I am aware that changes can be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is to be determined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A spray nozzle of the class described having therein a whirl chamber with a concentric discharge orifice leading therefrom at one end and an eccentric annular enlargement at the other end and closed at the side thereof remote from the whirl chamber, said whirl chamber having the surrounding Wall thereof at the enlargement end thereof divergently sloped outwardly to the peripheral wall of the enlargement, and said peripheral wall having a single inlet opening therethrough and said yopening leading vtangentially into the annular enlargement approximately at the place of greatest eccentricity thereof.

2. A spray nozzle of the class described having therein a Whirl chamber which has a concentric discharge orice at one end and an eccentric annular enlargement at the other end and closed at the side thereof remote from the whirl chamber, said chamber having the surrounding wall thereof at the latter end divergently sloped .outwardly toward the peripheral wall of and opening concentrically into the enlargement, said peripheral wall having a single inlet therethrough and said inlet leading tangentially into said annular enlargement approximately at the place of greatest eccentricity thereof.

v3. A spray nozzle of the class described having therein a whirl chamber which has a concentric discharge orifice at one end and an eccentric annular enlargement at the other end, said chamber having the surrounding wall thereof at the orice end convergently contracted toward the orifice and said chamber having the surrounding 1 wall thereof at the annular enlargement end divergently sloped outwardly to the peripheral wall of and opening concentrically into the enlargement, said peripheral wall having a single inlet therethrough and said inlet leading tangentially into said annular enlargement approximately at the place of greatest eccentricity thereof.

Y 4. A sprayv nozzle of the classdescribed having therein a Whirl chamber with a concentric discharge orifice leading therefrom at one end and a circular eccentric annular enlargement at the other end and closed at the side thereof remote from the Whirl chamber, said whirl chamber having the surrounding wall thereof at the enlargement end thereof divergently sloped outwardly to the peripheral wall 4of and opening concentrically into the enlargement, and said peripheral Wall having a single inlet opening therethrough and said opening leading tangentially into the annular enlargement approximately at the place of greatest eccentricity thereof said divergently sloped wall being of greatest width at the place of leads tangentially into the eccentric enlargement approximately at the place of greatest eccentricity thereof, and a plate clamped against said wall and closing the open side of said groove and the enlargement'at the side thereof remote from the whirl chamber, said whirl chamber having the discharge orifice end thereof conically tapered to the discharge orifice and said whirl chamber having the other end thereof conically ared to the eccentric annular enlargement, the conical taper at the discharge orifice end of the whirl chamber being concentric with the axis of the orifice and the conical are at the eccentric annular enlargement end of the whirl chamber being concentric with the axis of the eccentric annular enlargement.

6. A spray nozzle of the class described having therein a Whirl chamber which has at one end a discharge orifice leading therefrom and at the other end an eccentric annular enlargement which is closed at the side thereof remote from the whirl chamber and has a single inlet leading tangentially thereinto approximately at the place of greatest eccentricity thereof and provides an annular raceway in which the iniiow from said Vtangential inlet is conducted circumferentially References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,722,733 Coffey July 30, 1929 1,961,408 Wahlin June 5, 1934 2,069,498 Lang Feb. 2, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country DateY 344,897 Great Britain Mar.v 1,3, 1931 

